The Investments and Securities Tribunal (IST) sitting in Enugu, has delivered a judgment absolving five defendants of negligence in a share sale suit instituted by a claimant.

The tribunal delivered judgment on suit number IST/EN/OA/04/13 involving one Mr George Nnona as claimant and Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC] and three others as defendants.

Delivering the judgment, the Presiding Chairman of the tribunal panel, Mr Nosa Osemwegie, said that all the defendants, in the circumstance of this case, have performed their various roles “reasonably well in good faith and have not breached their duty of care to the claimant”.

“The claim of the claimant that he wanted to sell the GTB shares when it peaked at over N40 per unit and invest it on landed property is, in our view, mere speculation.

“It has been held that it is not the duty of court to go on a voyage of speculation imagining things which either happened or might have happened or did not happen.

“We also note that the GTB shares have increased in volume from 28, 250 units to 100,350 units between 2004 when the shares were purchased and 2013 [when the claimant filed the suit seeking damages].

“The value of the shares has also increased over time from N200, 450 to about N6 million from the evidence before us,” he said.

The chairman also ordered that bonuses outstanding to the claimant should be transferred to his stockbrokers of choice by the defendants not later than 30 days from the date of this judgment.

Osemwengie also advised fourth defendant to issue the claimant a contract notes as well as to pay N100,000 to the claimants as damages.

News Express recalls that Nnona approached the tribunal to seek damages after his request to sell his shares and invest in landed property was not granted due to irregularities found in his share purchase form; where his name was appended and the signature of his colleague, Mr Nduka Ikeyi, appended on the same share purchase form.

The defendants, however, were cautious to deal with his request since the form was bearing a different name but with a different signature, which is Ikeyi’s own.

The rest of the panelists that delivered the judgment include Dr Ahmed Abubakar, Mr Albert Otesile and Mr Kasumi Kurfi.